Community over Competition

I’m at She Speaks writers’ conference this weekend, and it is my first time. I wasn’t sure what to expect. It seemed like an intimidating idea to have a hundreds of Christian women writers all flock to one location with big dreams and book pitches, competing for the attention of a handful of big-name editors and agents. I had mentally packed my steel-toed boots to avoid getting walked all over and a shield around my heart to keep my hopes and ideas from being dashed to pieces by the publishing industry giants. 

Now that I am here, I realized that I should have packed very differently. I have been surrounded by the warmest group of genuine-hearted women I have ever met. Yes, they have dreams of publishing. Yes, they are working their tails off to build their influence and spread the message that God has laid on their hearts. Yes, they are pitching the book idea that they have birthed through overcoming difficult life experiences and lies from the enemy. But no, they aren’t here to stomp on my goals to reach theirs. 

These women have received me with the love of the body of Christ. They are eager to hear my idea and encourage me to pursue it. They look at what I have worked so hard to create and say that it is beneficial for the kingdom of God. They hear my insecurity and assure that it is part of the journey they walked as well. And suddenly I realize- there is no limit to the number of books we can print. There is no cap on great ideas. There is no boundary for the amount of words we can write to bring God glory. We are not competition, we are community.

You may not be writing a book of have dreams of being published, but we all have something that God has placed on our hearts in obedience to do to serve His kingdom. Like me, you may feel like sharing that aspiration with others in the Christian community, your church, or even your tribe will result in a competitive outburst of shaming from the ones you wish you could trust. If no one around you is being the voice of encouragement, let me be the first.

You have something to say.

We need to hear it.

You have a way to contribute.

We are encouraged by it.

You have a God to glorify.

We stand in awe and gratitude when we witness it.

We are not running a race against each other, we are sharing in a family meal together with more than enough seats for everyone at the table.

So this morning I am up bright and early to mentally repack. Today I will be wearing a heart that longs to see the dreams of the woman sitting next to me. I will be wearing eyes that are looking for ways to encourage her to serve God in the way that He has uniquely called her. I will be wearing hands that ask how they can help serve her in her mission. I will be wearing my family reunion shirt instead of my racing number. 

In order to be the body of Christ, we must embrace each other and celebrate each other as family. Whenever you are waking up this morning, wherever you are headed and whoever you meet, I hope that you choose the same.